


AU

by ElvishPotterhead



Series: Alternate Universe [1]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cussing, Developing Relationship, Eating Disorder, Gen, LGBTQ Character, Mention of Child Abuse, graphic discussion of sexual preference/orientation, they just talk about why a gay man isn’t into a trans woman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26167255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElvishPotterhead/pseuds/ElvishPotterhead
Summary: When Violet, Harrison, and Clara are ripped from their respective realities, their first thought is to get back home. However, each of them discovers something in their friends, in Hogwarts, or in themselves, and home is no longer their first priority. When new discoveries make them choose, which one do they want more? Their happier, easier lives in this new universe, or to go home and be with their families? What if that choice means they lose people they love? What if they were brought here for a reason?Begun: 3/26/2020Finished:
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/OC
Series: Alternate Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900222





	1. 1.Violet

I had no intention of creating a new potion. None.  
Yes, that was a dream of mine, and my dad promised to teach me how to create potions someday. He was always so busy with work.  
How the hell he became a teacher was beyond me. He hated most kids.  
Since I was born, he had gotten a bit nicer toward children, but I was surprised he hadn't killed anyone. He said he'd always wanted to own a business for potions or something.  
However, I was simply trying to brew a more effective Dreamless Sleep potion due to some pretty vivid nightmares I was having. Mom had given me normal ones, but they weren't at all effective. Dad thought that perhaps I had taught myself to lucid dream and it was simply my imagination. I did have a fascination with dark magic that probably stemmed from him, but I would never imagine a man murdering my mom and some other guy who happened to be in the house. I would never dream that up on my own.  
I knew something was wrong when the potion, just barely becoming the purple color it was supposed to become, turned a bright blinding white. It was sudden. I hadn't expected it and I hadn't planned it. In my four years of potion making, I had never seen such a drastic change in color.  
"Hey, dad!" I called. School was on break for the winter holidays and Christmas was a few days away. Dad would only be in the room next door, his own potions lab. I was in my bedroom, since I was not allowed to be in his potions lab.  
I heard a thud, a string of colorful words, and dad opened the door.  
"Yes?" He asked, his dark hair sticking to his sweaty brow.  
"The potion was starting to turn purple, and now it's not." I told him. Dad stepped closer. "Yes. It's not purple." He said.  
I rolled my eyes.  
"Did you add anything once the color began to change?"  
"No."  
"Did you touch it at all?"  
"No." I replied. "It just changed."  
"It's supposed to be a Dreamless Sleep potion, correct?"  
"Yes." I told him. "Do you think the change would be from the enhancement I added?"  
"No." He said. "Enhancing potions requires different measurements, but never enough to change the properties of a potion this drastically."  
We watched small bubbles rise to the top of the potion, then they rose up out of my cauldron and popped a few feet above it. My dad nodded to himself.  
"I'm going to take a sample of this." He reached at his chest as if to grab a vial from the inside pocket of his robes, but he wasn't wearing his robes, just a white button-up and his work pants. He huffed. "Don't do anything to it." He told me, then he hurried from the room.  
I turned and watched the potion. I wasn't quite sure what had happened. I hadn't done anything differently. Had I miscounted how many times I'd stirred? Had I accidently put in ingredients that were stronger than usual? Did I accidentally put in an extra of something?  
There was a faint popping sound coming from the cauldron. The glow was getting brighter. It was now actually glowing, and not just bright white.  
A bubble rose from the potion and stopped midair, then attached itself to my shoulder.  
Strange sticky bubbles. I noted mentally, prodding the bubble with a quill to pop it in order to avoid dangerous side effects from contact with the potion. It didn't pop.  
"Violet. What is that?" I heard Dad ask. He was standing behind me, vial in hand.  
"It came out of the potion." I told him.  
Dad watched me prod it again, and the lack of reaction.  
"Lily!" He called. I knew he was getting a bit nervous because his voice was tense. He could handle strange potions, but it was different with his kids.  
"Yes, Sev?" My mom called back.  
"Can you come here for a moment?"  
"Sorry, Love, I'm feeding Rosie!"  
Rosalie was my little sister, and she took up a lot of Mom's time.   
"It's kind of serious!" Dad told her.  
"So is feeding my daughter!"  
Another bubble floated up and stuck to my stomach. I felt a bit of fizzing and saw that the bubble on my shoulder had burned a hole in my shirt.  
"Dad?" I reached back and tugged on his shirt.  
Dad turned me around and got really close to the bubble.  
"Merlin." He whispered. "Lily, this potion is burning Violet!" I heard something clatter to the floor and Rosalie cried out cheerfully. There were loud footsteps in the hall, then Mom rushed into the room. Her red hair was wild and she looked scared.  
"What?" She asked. Dad nudged me toward her and she inspected my shoulder, which was starting to burn.  
"What is it?" She asked. Two bubbles rose from the cauldron and attached themselves to my knee and my lower back. They were followed by an onslaught of smaller bubbles which went to my face and neck. Mom cried out. My ears were covered, so I only heard mumbling from there. My heart raced in my chest, but opening my mouth could be dangerous.  
My head was filled with a buzzing sound and I couldn't feel my limbs.  
My vision went black. 

There wasn't any real change, except that I was laying down. I could feel a mattress beneath me. It wasn't my bed, though, my bed was much more firm.  
I blinked and rolled onto my side. My head throbbed and my eyesight was incredibly blurry.  
"Oh, you're awake." A male voice said softly. I sat up slowly and faced the owner of the voice. A boy about my age with bright green eyes and messy black hair. He had a jagged scar on his forehead, like a stretched out z. He wore a baggy t-shirt tucked into dirty, ripped jeans. I licked my dry lips.  
"You've been asleep for about an hour." He said. "I was out for roughly half that. She's been asleep for a while, but she only got here recently." He gestured to a red haired girl asleep on another bed.  
"How did I get here?" I asked him.  
"Same way I did, I suppose." The boy told me. "A spell backfired on me and I appeared outside. Then you showed up with some pretty nasty burns. There was a pop when you appeared, which was funny. She showed up in a flash of light."  
"Who are you?" I asked then, looking around. Was I in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing?  
"I'm Harrison Potter." He said.  
"Violet Snape. Is this Hogwarts?" I asked. Harrison nodded.  
"None of us are from this reality, though. It's very strange."  
"Reality?"  
"Like, each of us are from the same place, but different versions of that place." Harrison explained.  
"So in this reality, none of us exist, but everyone else we know does." I said, more to myself than him.  
"That's the theory." Harrison confirmed. There was a groan and we looked back. The girl who had been asleep suddenly shot up and looked around.  
"Who are you?" She asked Harrison and I. We were silent, glancing at each other. When it was clear that I wouldn't be speaking, Harrison cleared his throat.  
"I'm Harrison Potter, this is Violet Snape. You are?"  
"Potter? Really? My name is Clara Potter." The girl said. She had dark red hair that was cut short and fell over her forehead in messy curls. Her eyes were bright green.  
I tucked my raven hair behind my eaar. We all seemed to have the same color eyes.  
"Ah, you're awake." I heard. I recognised the voice and turned back to face Albus Dumbledore himself. He wore bright yellow robes and his eyes twinkled happily. At his side were my dad, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout.  
Harrison cursed loudly and fell back onto his bed, while I watched my dad. He stared back at me, as if he was trying to read me.  
"If you don't mind, could you please tell me how you three got here." Dumbledore asked us. As if I hadn't heard, I looked at Harrison.  
"If this is an alternate reality, does that mean my dad isn't my dad?" I asked.  
"It's all just theory, Snape." He said. I heard several gasps at the name which proved my assumption. "I have no idea."  
"Well, you answered the question anyway. Thanks."  
"Uh, I don't know how we got here." The Clara said.  
"What are your names?" McGonagall asked.  
"Clara Potter." Clara told her.  
"Violet Snape." I said, staring directly at my dad. He studied me, a look of mild alarm in his eyes.  
"Harrison Potter." Harrison didn't move.  
"And who are your parents?" McGonagall sked after that.  
"James and Lily Potter." Clara said immediately.  
"Same as her." Harrison said. "Except they're dead."  
"What?" Clara asked loudly. "They're dead? How did they die?"  
Lily. That was my mom's name.  
"Voldemort killed them." Harrison replied. The adults flinched at the name.  
"But they're still alive." Clara protested. They're still alive and my older brother goes to Hogwarts. My dad is an auror."  
"Harrison has a theory that we come from alternate versions of this. So in your world Lily and James are alive and kicking while in Harrison's they died a while ago." I explained. I understood something when I heard the stories and thought on it a bit.  
"While it appears that in my world, Lily did not marry James Potter like she did in yours. We are talking about Lily Evans, correct?"  
Two nods.  
"It seems that we are three children of Lily Evans, because in my world she married Severus Snape." I made eye contact with my dad who looked less alarmed and more of a cross between furious and sad.  
"Is the drama genetic?" Clara asked.  
"Excuse me?" I asked.  
"Well, my godfather is Severus Snape." She said. "And he acts just as dramatic as you."  
"Dramatic? The man's terrifying!" Harrison intervened.  
"He kind of is." I laughed. "Especially when I mess up potions, but I'm good at potions so it's not often. And yes, the drama is genetic. And required. Dad is very sarcastic and it takes a certain level of emotionlessness and a good glare just to get through a morning."  
Harrison rolled his eyes but Clara giggled. "I can't imagine living with him."  
"I can." I told her seriously. She broke into a fit of giggles and I turned to face the headmaster, who was watching the exchange intently.  
"So you have absolutely no idea how you got here?" Dumbledore asked. I felt compelled to look him in the eyes, and when I did, I felt the strange sensation of someone poking around my mind. I glared and turned away, throwing my shields up.  
Stupid legilimens. I thought angrily. I suppose he did have a reason to want to read my mind and figure out the truth, but forcing your way into someone's mind was not only incredibly rude, but also extremely offensive to anyone who wasn't aware it was going to happen.  
"What are we going to do?" Harrison asked. A good point. What were we going to do? How were we going to get home if we didn't know what brought us here in the first place?  
"Well," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "I suppose you'll have to stay here."  
"In the Hospital Wing?" Clara asked.  
"In the castle." I corrected her. She turned a bit pink.  
"Oh." She said quietly. "How long will we be here?"  
"Oh we'll just spend the weekend and then all-knowing Albus Dumbledore will have us all sorted in time for Christmas." I told her sarcastically.  
"Really?" Clara asked hopefully. But even she knew it wasn't true.  
"No, Potter. It's likely we won't be back for Christmas. Hell, we'll be lucky if we're home by the end of the year." I said. Something squeezed my heart. I had never spent a holiday away from my parents. Sure my dad was right in front of me, but he'd never glared at me like I was the spawn of Satan himself like this version of him was.  
Clara didn't respond, she just looked down at her hands. Her knuckles were white and she appeared to be clasping them very tightly.  
I was suddenly reminded of my sister. Sure, Clara was older and had green eyes instead of black and had curly hair instead of stick straight, but Clara was obviously a younger sibling. That meant she had never had to be the strong one for someone else's sake. I swung my feet over the side of the bed. Trembling harshly, I made my way to her bed next to mine and curled up next to her. Immediately, she leaned into me. She definitely had some bad memories judging by the way she accepted the embrace when we had barely met an hour before.  
I stroked her short hair, shutting out the whispers around us.  
"Have you ever been alone away from home, Clara?" I asked.  
She shook her head slowly. "I wasn't allowed to go to Hogwarts since Voldemort is in charge of everything. I've never even been to a sleepover."  
"Your parents are scared." I said. It wasn't a question.  
Clara nodded.  
"When I was ten, I befriended this muggle girl who lived on our street." I said. Stories were helpful, right? Mom always told me stories about stupid things her ex-boyfriends or dad did in school when I was sad.  
"Well, this girl, her name was Evelyn, she invited me to sleep over one night for her birthday. None of her friends from muggle school were able to make it, but I could since we lived so close." I said. "I was terrified. I said so too. My mom said that I didn't have to go if I didn't want to but dad..." I trailed off to look up at the other Dad. "He was reading, he's usually reading, but he looked up from his book and he said "Violet Lily, you don't go to that party, you are breaking your promise to that girl." and I would have been. I told Evelyn that I would go." I smiled to myself. "Then dad gave me that look that dads give you when they're disappointed and I knew, I was going to that sleepover whether I wanted to or not." Clara giggled a bit into my shoulder. I didn't know if the adults were even in the room anymore.  
"But that night, there was a pretty bad storm. As a kid I had a problem with thunder. My mom always said I got it from Dad because of his past and then Dad would hiss at her that I didn't need to know about that." I rolled my eyes. "But I was laying there in the dark, trembling in fear, and I realised: I just got to suck it up."  
"That's depressing." Clara murmured.  
"It's kind of a household rule." I laughed. "But I realised, there was no one who would stop the thunder from thundering, no one who would come take me home that late at night. But there was Evelyn's mom who would protect me if there was danger. And, the next day, my parents would be there to hug me and tell me everything was okay." I stopped, there wasn't much else to tell.  
Clara wasn't tense anymore and there were tear streaks on her cheeks.  
"How old are you, Clara?" I asked quietly.  
"I'm twelve." She said quietly, like she thought she would be made fun of.  
"Oh." I said. I looked over and made eye contact with Harrison. We were both thirteen, I was sure. He nodded, confirming. Sure it was only a year, but one year can make all the difference.

2669 words  
3/29/2020


	2. 2. Harrison

"Do you two attend Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked Violet and I as Clara had already made it clear that she was not allowed to go to Hogwarts.  
I nodded while Violet replied with a straightforward "Yes." Dumbledore nodded.   
"Then we'll just add you to the student body until you can get home."   
"Albus," McGonagall protested. She looked the same as she always did, even the same robes. Was her aesthetic made possible by having one of the same robes for every day of the week?   
"The children are bound to notice that they suddenly appeared, and once they leave, won't people start asking questions?" She asked. She had a point. I looked back at Dumbledore for his response.  
"Students transfer schools all the time." He shrugged. His grey beard was tied in a band at the bottom, I noticed.   
"Look, old man," Violet started. When several professors started complaining about the words "old man" she rolled her eyes. "That's tame for me, Dumbledore in my reality is chill so y'all need to pipe down." She turned back to the headmaster. "As much as I loathe to admit it, Professor McGonagall is right. Especially being that I am in Slytherin, I know for a fact that the students will wonder where I came from and why and when I leave, they will question people outside of school. No one will have heard of me and they will be angry because they will know we all lied." Violet explained.  
"Then we come up with a good cover story." Dumbledore decided.  
I snorted. Dumbledore in this reality was much like a regular old wizard, and quite idiotic compared to the diabolical, evil bastard that was the headmaster in my reality.   
"Is there something you would like to add, Mr. Potter?" Sprout, speaking for the first time, asked.  
"I was just thinking," I said slowly. I wasn't about to have the professors hate me before we even started school. "The Headmaster is so different here compared to home."  
"How so?" Clara asked from two beds over.  
"Well, in my reality Dumbledore is incredibly smart, but also a terrible person. He manipulates from behind closed doors and pulls the strings to bend the ministry to his will. Compared to the Dark Lord of that reality, Dumbledore is Satan. This Dumbledore is a regular man compared to the Dumbledore I'm used to." I told them. They all watched me worriedly.   
"Are you a Slytherin, too." Violet asked me. I nodded.   
"Thought so." Violet said. "You act like a Slytherin."  
"You act like a reserved Ravenclaw, so I don't know if that's actually a compliment."  
"It's not. It's an observation." Violet corrected, not even acknowledging the minor insult.   
"Alright children," Madame Pomfrey appeared from nowhere. "That's enough." She waved her wand over each of us in turn, pausing over Violet.  
"You've had contact with a teleportation potion. Something went wrong in the brewing and burned you pretty bad."  
"Poppy," Snape spoke up before anyone else did. "She's thirteen, there's no way she could have-"  
"Of course!" Violet interrupted him. "I must have accidentally brewed it!"   
"How?" Snape asked, obviously annoyed.  
"I was making a Dreamless Sleep potion when it turned blindingly white in the middle of brewing. Then bubbles started rising out of it and attaching to me. Neither of my parents seemed to know what it was, though Dad could have just been trying to convince himself it was something else since teleportation potions haven't been used since apparation become more mainstream. It is possible that since it was accidental the potion somehow changed and transported me here." Violet explained. "But that would mean that the only way to return would be to remake the potion, which is near impossible as the original potion isn't meant to traverse dimensions, meaning I would need the help of a Potions Master to even attempt it." She smiled sweetly at Snape and he glared at her.   
"A wonderful idea, Miss Snape, you will help her, Severus?" Pomfrey asked Snape. She phrased it like a question but it was clear that it was not optional. Snape didn't respond and the healer waved her wand over me, then drew back sharply.  
"Mr. Potter! Where do you live over the summers?"  
"With my uncle and aunt." I told her.  
"How long have they been abusing you?"  
"Abusing?" I asked. Alarms rang in my ears. It'll get worse if she tells anyone. "They don't abuse me."  
"Mr. Potter, I can read everything they've ever done simply from this spell."  
Shit.  
"There's nothing wrong!" I hissed, looking up at her sharply.  
"Potter!" Violet said acidicly. Clara and I both froze. Violet pursed her lips at me. "You're only proving her assumption."  
"What?"  
"Signs of abuse: getting defensive when it's mentioned, blocking of emotions, self-hate, anxiety, excessive quietness, flinching at sudden movement and touches, desire to be alone, aggressive behaviors, pushing other people away." Violet recited a if she was reading it off a list. I scowled at her.  
Pomfrey studied me for a long several minutes before going into her office.   
"They're going to stay in the Slytherin dorms, right?" Clara asked. It was strange to think about, but in another life, Clara was my little sister. I looked down at my hands, clutching the bedsheets. A sister.  
"Yes, why?" McGonagall asked.  
"Where will I stay?"  
She didn't go to Hogwarts. She wouldn't have a dorm to stay in. Why wouldn't someone want their kids to go to Hogwarts? It was the safest place in Britain. Even if Voldemort was at large, he couldn't get Hogwarts, right?   
"You'll have to be sorted!" Dumbledore decided. He stroked his beard happily.   
"Albums, should we really have her in school here if she can't go to school in her reality?" McGonagall asked. Clara, who'd looked overjoyed at the promise of a temporary stay at Hogwarts, looked crestfallen.   
"Of course, Minerva." Dumbledore confirmed.  
"Where else would she even stay?" Sprout asked. It was more of a rhetorical question than an actual question.  
"So," Violet said once everyone had been silent for several awkward minutes. "When do I start that potion?"  
"As soon as you're all settled in your dorms." Dumbledore told her cheerfully. Snape sneered at Violet and left the room, his cloak billowing out behind him. Violet didn't seem phased, she just nodded to herself and then frowned. "We don't have anything with us."   
"Hogwarts will provide anything you need." McGongall said.  
"Hogwarts the castle or Hogwarts the staff?" Violet asked.   
"Whichever is necessary at the moment." Cane the response.   
Violet nodded again, muttered to herself quietly, and then opened a drawer in the table beside her bed. "I love magic." She said quietly, taking out a muggle composition notebook and a ball-point pen from the drawer.   
"What's that?" I asked her.  
"My potions notes." She replied. She flipped through the book. I leaned back onto the pillow. Would that work for me?   
"We should get Miss Potter sorted, then you may relax." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling almost as brightly as his robes were colored. I rolled my eyes and stood with much more ease than Violet did. SHe was clutching the notebook but having a hard time standing on her own. Clara stumbled but jogged after the Professors, who followed Dumbledore. I scowled. How irresponsible. Gently, I hooked an arm beneath Violet's shoulders and helped her out of the infirmary. She muttered that she was fine several times but didn't even attempt to pull away.   
She was small but surprisingly strong. Her arm shook with the effort to hold onto me, but was able to mostly hold herself up. It wasn't difficult as she wasn't short.  
We arrived at the headmaster's office just as the gargoyle jumped aside to let everyone through. Getting Violet up the stairs was a chore, but we made it. She took one of the two open seats across from Dumbledore at his desk. I gestured for Clara to sit in the other open seat and she did so slowly, as if I would change my mind.   
Violet pulled her long dark hair over her shoulder and revealed several piercings in her left ear that had been hidden. I noted that and looked up as McGonagall approached with the Sorting Hat. She placed it on top of Clara's head and the unofficial sorting began. 

1394 words  
3/31/2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any grammar issues. I wrote this one pretty late and haven’t gotten around to editing.


	3. 3. Clara

I jolted a bit as a voice spoke in my head. 

/I haven’t seen a mind like yours in a long time./

I swallowed dryly. My brother, Harry, talked about stories that his friend Ron’s older brothers told him. One was of the Sorting Hat.

/Don’t be afraid, child. It paused. You’re very brave. You got here from being vanished? Ah. Very, very brave to get through that. For a wizard to vanish another wizard, and a child no less… Yes. There is intelligence and loyalty and true curiosity. You aren’t a difficult one./ The hat chuckled, which was strange, what with it being on my head and, you know, a hat. 

“Gryffindor!” It shouted, the sound was very loud in the small office. McGonagall removed the hat with a smile. Violet and Harrison looked overall uninterested, but I caught Violet glance at me several times.   
“I suppose you should head to your dorms and get settled in. Dinner is at six o’clock sharp.” Dumbledore informed us. Almost before he finished talking, Violet shot out of her seat and left the office with Harrison, leaving me behind. I watched sadly. She had been so nice when I was in the Hospital Wing, perhaps that was simply to impress the professors.   
“Come on, dear. There are few students still here. Perhaps you can befriend them.” McGonagall told me. I stood and followed her.  
“I am the transfiguration instructor here.” She told me as we walked. “While you are attending Hogwarts, you will be treated like any other student, however, as we aren’t aware of what kind of education you three have had previously, you will not be penalized for not knowing something.” I nodded. I would be expected to make good grades? McGonagall placed her hand on my shoulder.   
“If ever you need someone to talk to, I’m the Head of Gryffindor house, my door is always open.” She said. I smiled up at her. It was comforting knowing there was at least one person on my side here.   
We arrived at a portrait. The woman depicted had light hair tied up on top of her head. The label in the corner read “The Fat Lady.” I wrinkled my nose, that wasn’t very polite.   
“Password?” The woman asked, startling me. We had some talking portraits at home, but not a whole lot. Did all of the portraits talk here?   
“Fortuna Major.” Professor McGonagall said. The portrait swung forward, revealing a hole in the wall that led into another room. “Remember the password, Miss Potter. You won’t be allowed inside if you forget it.” McGonagall warned me. I nodded.   
The room inside ws very red. It had accents of gold and brown, but it was very red. There were a few others in the room, two older kids playing chess in the corner, a group sitting on the couch chatting, and a red haired girl sitting on the floor not so sneakily eavesdropping on the conversation that those sitting on the couches were having.   
“Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley, Miss Granger.” McGonagall said suddenly. All the heads in the room turned to look at us. I slid behind McGonagall so I couldn’t be seen.   
Mr. Potter? Was this the Harry Potter of this reality, as Harrison and Violet had put it?   
The three on the couch, plus the girl on the floor, stood and walked over. They looked nervous, like they were hiding something.  
“This is Clara Potter, she just transferred. She’ll be a second year.” McGonagall stepped out from in front of me and I blushed when people stared. I fit right in with my red hair.   
“Potter?” A boy said. He looked just like my brother.  
“You’re Harry Potter.” I blurted out, then I blushed harder. He looked very annoyed. “I’m sorry.” I said quickly. I didn’t really have anything else to say.   
“It’s fine.” Harry said with a sigh. “I’m Harry Potter. This Is Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley.” He said. Each person waved halfheartedly when their name was said.   
“Why don’t you have a uniform?” Ron asked. I looked down. I was wearing blue jeans and a blue sweater. I looked at McGonagall who stood watching the encounter.   
“It will be provided.” She said. “You should have everything you need tomorrow morning.”   
I nodded. “Is someone going to get things for Harrison and Violet?” I asked. McGonagall looked momentarily surprised but smiled again.   
“Professor Snape will make sure that they are prepared for the start of term.” I nodded, not truly trusting the man that had been so harsh to make sure of anything.   
“If you have any issues, someone can bring you to me and they will be resolved. I’m sure the students can cover the rest.” McGonagall told me, giving the others a firm look each.   
“Thank you, Professor.” I said quietly. She left and I turned back to the students. The boys looked uninterested again, but Hermione and Ginny studied me.  
“May I call you Clara?” Ginny asked me. I nodded. “I’m a second year, too.” Ginny said. “Hermione, Ron, and Harry are in third year.”  
“Don’t expect much attention from the boys, they only care about Qudditch and proving that Professor Snape is a bad person.” Hermione said. I giggled.  
“I never really had friends, so it’s not much of a problem.” I said.   
“Where did you go to school before this?” Hermione asked me.  
“ I was homeschooled.” I said, which wasn’t technically a lie. Both girls looked sorry for me, as if homeschooling was the worst thing they could imagine.  
“Do you have any siblings?” Hermione asked after a pause.   
“I have an older brother.” I said.  
“I have six older brothers.” Ginny laughed.  
“I’m so sorry.” I grimaced. Harry was wonderful, but six Harrys was too many.   
Harry and Ron called for Hermione and she gave me an apologetic glance before going back.  
“So, you want to see the dorm?” Ginny asked.   
“Yes.” I told her with a grin.   
Ginny led me up a few stairs to a long hallway. There were seven doors and each had a number, one through seven. Ginny pulled me through the one with a two. Inside there were more doors. Each had a little plaque with five names written on it, except that the first room had six names. My name had been added to the little plaque below five others.  
“Aw, I'm two rooms over.” Ginny said. “But Adrienne Colton is nice enough. Blake Walter is pretty quiet, I’ve never met the others.” I felt a stab of disappointment, I wouldn’t be rooming with Ginny. With a sigh, I went into the room. There were six beds all lined up against the wall. There was a trunk at the ends of three of them, one had my name on it. The trunk was a basic brown with silver locks. I opened it up and found several sets of the uniform, a few pairs of muggle jeans, and sweaters. There were also journals and other things that were far too personal to have gotten there by any means other than magic.   
I sent a silent thanks to whoever had made this happen and then looked around, one of the other beds was unmade, the other had a stuffed elephant laying on the pillow.   
There was a bookcase in the corner that didn’t appear to have ever been touched. Other than that, no personality.   
I smoothed over the blankets on the bed before making my way back into the common room.   
“Oh, Clara! You’re just in time!” Hermione called.  
“Just in time?” I asked.   
“We’re going down to dinner.” She told me.  
“There's an hour until dinner.” I said.  
“Yes, but in case we get caught on the staircases, we want to have plenty of time.” Ginny replied from behind me.  
“The staircases?”  
“They kind of have a mind of their own.” Ginny giggled.   
We left the common room in a large group of everyone that was still in there and hurried to the stairs. I followed, but everyone was going much faster than was strictly necessary considering we had an hour.  
Just as I leap off a flight of stairs, I heard a scraping noise and the floor trembled violently. I turned around just in time to see the stairs swing around to face a whole different direction.  
“So that’s why we left early.” I said quietly. There were a few laughs behind me.   
We arrived in the Great Hall only five minute to six. There was a single long table in the center of the room and everyone sat towards the middle. I looked between the Gryffindors and where Violet and Harrison sat with the very few other Slytherins who had decided to stay over the break. Eventually, I went and sat beside Ginny.   
Dumbledore clapped quickly and food appeared on the golden plates in front of us. I grinned. I guess Hogwarts wasn’t the worst place to get accidentally teleported. 

1499 words  
4/2/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry if this chapter seems different from the others. This is my first time writing the chapter on PC, I normally use mobile. I'm still learning how to use this website, but we're getting there. Anyway, if you'd like to read the finished story faster, it's completed on Wattpad. I'm under the same username there as I am here.


	4. 4. Violet

I woke with a start. 

Christmas morning. Without my family. 

I rolled onto my side and shut my eyes again. How could I be expected to just relax when I should be with my parents. Mom was probably worried sick. Dad probably hadn't slept since I'd disappeared.   
I opened my eyes again. The room was empty. Everyone who had stayed behind was older than Harrison and myself. I had the whole room to myself. It was dark and quiet and cold. The fact that so many pompous brats lived in this dorm was astonishing. Of course, many of those pompous brats were my friends, but they were very spoiled and quite arrogant. Not insults, just facts.   
Slowly, I dressed in the uniform shirt, but a pair of men's slacks that had just been in my trunk when I opened it. It was quite early, I had time to brush out my hair instead of just tying it up. I tied the Slytherin tie loosely around my neck and left the room.   
Harrison Potter sat on one of the black couches. The lanterns lit suddenly, like they were on a timer, and the dark common room was lit with a homey glow. Harrison looked me up and down and I frowned at him.   
"There are presents." Was all he said. I sat beside him and saw that he was right, there were two groups of presents neatly stacked by the fireplace that was never lit.   
Harrison had worn the full uniform, which made sense as he had arrived in clothing that was less than satisfactory. His hair was still quite unruly, but it looked like he had at least tried.   
When he didn't move, I slid off the couch and onto the floor.   
"Happy Christmas, Potter." I said quietly. After a long second he replied, "Happy Christmas, Snape."   
The first gift was from McGonagall and was a new Muggle composition notebook. The note said:

You seem to prefer these to parchment, so I figured you'd like a new one for anything you learn while you're here.

I had never really interacted with McGonagall, but I suppose she was trying to be motherly. It was nice.  
Harrison was flipping through a book. I opened another. From Mrs. Weasley?

Hello dear. Dumbledore said you would be spending Christmas alone this year, I figured you might appreciate something sweet.

A box of Honeydukes chocolate and a Slytherin green sweater with a V stitched onto the front in black. Harrison appeared to have gotten a similar gift,as he was staring very intently at a black sweater with an H in gold.  
I received several books, a Slytherin themed hat, a wand holster, and sweets from Clara. I hadn't expected anything from Clara. The girl was just so nice, despite whatever had made her so vulnerable.   
Then I saw the final gift.

From S. Snape.

He had gotten me something?

I am obviously not your father, but I realise you may see me as such. However, I am your Head of House and it is my responsibility to help you and Mr. Potter through this hard time. You have taken an interest in potions, likely of my alternate self's doing, that I am happy to encourage. 

Inside the wrapping was a box of several jars. Inside each jar was a different ingredient. These ingredients in particular I recognised, though. They had come directly from his private storage.   
"Teacher's pet." Harrison hissed jokingly. I smirked. I did know something, Snape didn't hate me.   
That was a feat of it's own. 

The older students bagan waking up so Harrison and I took our new things to our rooms and went to breakfast. While we were eating, I made eye contact with Professor Snape and sent him a small smile in thanks. He simply went back to his conversation with Flitwick, but I knew he understood me.   
After breakfast, I waited a while before slowly going back to the dungeons. It would likely be wise to begin discussing with Snape how to brew the potion I'd made.   
I knocked on the door to his office and waited patiently. There was the tapping of footsteps, then Snape answered the doors.  
"Yes?" He drawled, annoyance obvious in his tone.  
"I'm sorry for interrupting. I wondered if you'd like to see my notes?" I told him. He watched me for several excruciating minutes before he gestured for me to come in.  
The office was no different than in my reality, except that in my reality, I had a separate cabinet for my own separate potions ingredients. I wasn't allowed to use them in class, for the sake of fairness, but I had them there anyway.  
I sat in the hard chair across from Snape's and pulled out my battered notebook. I only had my personal notes in this book, all notes on particular potions that were in books I wrote in the book. I flipped it open.  
"I was writing down as I went so that any time I needed to make it again, I would have the right numbers." I told him, but he didn't seem to care. I slid the notebook across the desk so the Potions Master could see. According to the notes, I had finished, except for the final ingredient. I didn't have the numbers for that yet.   
Snape scanned the page quickly. "Impressive. You're a third year?"   
I nodded.   
"This is a sixth year level potion." He said slowly. He looked at me with an unreadable expression. Then he looked pained. "You really are my daughter."  
I didn't say anything, I didn't know what happened, but this version of my dad had obviously not ended up with my mom. I didn't know if it was an okay thing to bring up.   
The two sat in silence for some time before the professor spoke. "We'll begin our work recreating this tomorrow at ten o'clock. Don't be late."   
Violet thanked him and stood up. She took her notebook, shoved it into her bag, and left the office. With nothing else to do, Violet went up the stairs to wander.   
She came across a door that she was certain wasn't in her Hogwarts. She had no clue what floor she was on, so with a shrug, she pushed the door open.   
Inside was a room that looked just like my room at home. There was a twin sized bed with plain white sheets against a corner below a large window with grey curtains. A standard cauldron was on a wooden table in the corner beside her closet, and jars of potions ingredients were stacked in a box below that table. The floor was wooden, and there were three shelves along the walls packed with books. My trunk from home was at the end of the bed. How could my room be here? That was impossible.   
Were my notebooks in this room too? Just as I thought it, the notebooks appeared on the table beside my cauldron.   
The castle can access things from other worlds. I realized. I grinned to myself.   
Instructions on how to make the potion that brought me here?   
A book appeared on the table. It was old and the spine was covered in a layer of gold. Greek words were on the cover. I opened it. The pages were blank.  
"What kid of sick joke is this?" I asked out loud. Slowly, red ink spread across the blank page I stared down at.

Soon.

That's all it said. I sighed. I took the notebooks and the book and I shoved them into my bag. There was no point saying anything about the book to anyone, they wouldn't believe me. I would just have to wait until something happened. Something was going to happen, I knew that. What else would "soon" mean?

For the rest of the week, I spent my time avoiding everyone else in the castle. Why make friends if we weren't going to be here very long? Harrison never said much, though he watched me almost all the time whenever we were in the same room. Sometimes, Clara would try to start a conversation, but it would dry out fast and she would go back to her Gryffindor friends.   
I recognized the people she had befriended. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, and Hermione Granger. My dad, the Snape of this world, had explained to me that this world's Harry Potter was the son of my mom and James Potter. He was famous for killing Voldemort. Harry sometimes sent Harrison odd looks, as they shared a face.   
At lunch, the day before everyone was supposed to come back, I realized something. I turned to Harrison who was once again watching me with a bored stare. "We need different last names." I said.  
"Why?" He asked me.  
"You can't go around saying you're a Potter since you look just like Harry Potter." I said. "And I can't tell anyone I'm a Snape."  
"Why not?"  
"Look at that man and tell me that he wouldn't kill me if I said something. And people will get really mad if they think you're Harry's brother or something." I told him. Harrison stayed silent. He understood.   
"I'll go with Prince." I said after a moment. "My mom's maiden name is Evans but that would be a very strange coincidence. Prince was my grandmother's maiden name."  
Harrison thought for a long while, so long, I thought he was ignoring me. Just as I was about to say something, he spoke.  
"Gold."  
"Gold?" Where had that come from?  
"Because Harry is the Chosen One, the "Golden Boy" so to speak. Gold will be just enough so that everyone who knows where we came from will know who we are, but it won't be obvious." Harrison told me.  
"That's... really elaborate." I said quietly. He had thought really hard for something that took me a few seconds to think of.   
Harrison shrugged and went back to his potatoes. I nodded to myself, then looked up at Dumbledore who sat at the head of the table. I gave him a pointed stare and he nodded. We needed to talk, and he needed to screw his head on right for that conversation or I would help him. 

1713 words   
2/12/2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry lol I forgot I was uploading the story here and I got so busy with school that I haven’t even thought about this. Hope you liked it :)   
> Violet is the easiest character for me to write. I think I heavily projected when creating her.


	5. 5. Harrison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of possession. This is just not a chapter to get offended about. Feel free to ask questions though. Let's just put a cursing warning in all Harrison chapters. Please don't attack me about the way Harrison thinks. He isn't objectifying Lila in any way, he simply notices that she has a flat chest at an age where most girls he knows do not. All will be explained in due time. Sorry it's a bit late, I had to catch up on school and I forgot it was Thursday.   
> Anyway, sorry it took so long to get this up. I forgot about it and then I got stressed out by school.

After lunch, Violet went to Dumbledore's office and I went back to the dormitory. There wasn't really any point in doing anything else. I took a book from the small library in the common room and began studying for herbology, it had always been my weakest subject.   
I heard a thumping sound and turned to see a girl come down from the dorms. She was older than me. Her skin was slick with sweat and her hair hung in choppy strands, sticking to her neck. She mouthed something and fell forward, hitting her nose on the floor with a sickening crack.   
I stood up fast and went to her. I gently touched her back and she jerked away as if I'd slapped her. She began to shake violently, murmuring under her breath.  
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, though it was a stupid question. The girl stood again, but she didn't stand up. She rose in a sort of backwards fall, as if an invisible string was attached to her back and pulled her. Blood streaked over her lips and fell from her mouth as she smiled. Her eyes were wide and her arms hung limply at her side.  
"Yes. I'm fine." She said, but she spoke with a thick Spanish accent that didn't quite match her pale skin and round eyes.  
"Why are you Spanish?" I asked hesitantly.  
"What is he normally?" She asked, then she jerked to the side violently and hissed angrily.   
"Come on now," I said. My heart was racing in my chest, but someone was bound to get here soon. "Let's just cut this out now."  
"Why?" She asked, this time with an American accent.  
"Your accents are terrible." I tried. She jerked again and hissed, then fell forward limply. I caught her around the middle and managed to sit her on the stairs before collapsing on the floor. The stairs would turn into a slide if I sat on them.   
"Oh Merlin." Someone gasped loudly. I turned. One of the older boys stood frozen on the stairs to the boys dormitory.  
"Go get a professor, quickly!" I snapped. The girl was bleeding from her nose, the spaces where her front teeth must have been knocked out, and a spot in the middle of her forehead. She slumped against me, still breathing, but likely unconscious.   
The door opened again and Snape stood there with Madam Pomfrey. The matron gasped and raced over but Snape fixed me with a look.   
"I want to know exactly what happened, Mr. Gold."   
Ah, so I was already being called that.  
In short words, I explained what had happened. I felt a probing sensation in my mind and, with an elongated sigh, allowed Snape to peek into my recent memories to be sure I hadn't beaten her up or something.  
When he left my mind, Snape sighed quietly and his whole body seemed to droop. "Some sort of possession, I think." He told Pomfery who was coaxing a multitude of potions down the girl's throat. She simply nodded and continued.   
Eventually, the girl shot up coughing. She immediately made eye-contact with me.  
"Thank you." She said. Her voice was deeper than average, but like honey. It was sweet and lively and alluring. I simply nodded once. She was helped up and they began to leave, but the girl broke away to extend her hand to me.   
"Lila Greene." She said.  
"Harrison Gold." I responded, shaking her hand. Then Lila allowed herself to be escorted away.   
Oh shit. I can't get attached to people. I can't make friends. What happens when I have to leave them?  
I flopped onto the couch. I couldn't let her be friends with me. I can't afford that. I would hurt her with my anger issues and when I leave.   
I closed my eyes. I cared about Violet too, didn't I? And Clara, even though we didn't really know each other. We were in the same situation, that would bring us together.   
"Shit!" I hissed, slamming my hand back onto a pillow.  
"As much as I understand your situation, I would advise against using that type of language in this school." I heard Snape say. I shot up. He was still here?   
Snape sent me a smirk from where he stood by the door.  
"Yes sir." I muttered and he left in a flurry of robes. I fell back onto the couch. Maybe it was time for a nap.

I was awakened by someone shaking me. My stomach lurched and I pushed them away, fighting off flashbacks. I had a good handle on my memories of the summers I spent at the Dursley's, I wasn't about to start remembering now.  
The boy who I'd pushed away stayed back. "Sorry, I didn't know you'd react like that."   
I rolled my eyes. Lucky for him, I wasn't mad. "What do you want?"   
"Lila Greene requested that you visit her in the Hospital Wing."  
"Damn, people can do that?" I asked him. He laughed a bit and nodded. I stood up and straightened out my robes, which I hadn't bothered taking off.   
Without another word to the boy who stood by the couch watching me, I walked out the door and climbed the stairs out of the dungeons. It seemed like if there was something to run into on the way there, I ran into it. Peeves caught me with some jinx that caused a raincloud to follow me around. I missed every single flight of stairs I could miss and somehow took a wrong turn and ended up outside. However, I made it to the Hospital Wing.   
Lila was propped up on a bed. Her brown hair was in two dutch braids and she sipped lemonade while reading a large book she had in her lap. Not too quickly, I went and sat in the chair beside her bed. Lila jolted slightly but smiled at me happily.   
"Hello, Gold. May I call you Harrison?" She asked.  
"If you must." I replied.  
"I just wanted to thank you, Harrison." Lila told me. "You may have saved my life."   
"What happened, anyway?" I asked her. Lila smiled faintly to herself.  
"I was possessed by two different ghosts." She said.  
"What?" I had to have heard her wrong. That kind of supernatural bullshit only happened in stories, right?   
"My family is very close to the afterlife, some of my ancestors even practised necromancy. It means we're more likely to be possessed." Lila said. I raised my eyebrows.   
"Are you joking?" I asked. Lila fixed me with a glare so strong, it would have made Snape flinch. I stared at her impassively.  
"Why would I joke about that?" She asked. I sighed and ran a hand over my face.  
"Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was a touchy subject for you." I told her. Lila watched me silently.   
"Was there anything else?" I asked her.  
"I'd like to be your friend."  
I froze and fixed her with a look. The girl stared back at me. Her lips were pressed together firmly and her chest rose and fell at a more rapid pace than was normal. I didn't know girls her age could still be flat. Was that a rude thing to notice?   
"I'm not a very easy person to get along with." I said finally.  
"When that's happened before," Lila told me. "People would run away or cast spells on me or laugh. You didn't. You helped. I think a person like you is worth being friends with, even if it's difficult." She told me. She smiled a bit.   
I swallowed dryly. "Alright then." I said. I extended a hand to shake, and she did so with a bright grin. Her hands were calloused at the fleshy part of her palm. I noticed a jagged scar on her shoulder when her shirt fell slightly.   
I drew away.   
"Do you have anywhere to be?" Lila asked me.   
I shook my head.   
"Perhaps when I'm allowed out, if I'm allowed out before everyone returns, we can go do something?" Lila asked me.  
I felt my neck heat up a bit. It did sound a lot like she was asking me out.   
"What would we even do in a castle?" I asked her.  
"Well," she said. "There still a bit of snow outside. The Room of Requirement is somewhere, we could find that. There are kitchens to be ransacked." Lila suggested with a mischievous glint in her eye. I let out a quick breath of air through my nose in a silent laugh. Perhaps friends weren't too bad.

1437 words  
4/16/20


	6. 6. Clara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of cutting and eating disorders. I decided to do two updates since it’s been like a year since I updated. I might do more than this lol, idk. The next few chapters will contain some stuff on eating disorders, mental illness, and there will be a more detailed discussion of abuse. Be warned.

After lunch, I'd gone back to Gryffindor tower to chat with Ginny some more. On my way, Violet rushed past me, informing me that her surname was to be Prince and Harrison's was Gold. Ginny didn't even bat an eye at the odd statement after Violet ran off I'm the direction of Dumbledore's office. When I asked her about it, she informed me that her brother and his friends did weirder things.  
There wasn't all that much to talk about, really. Ginny told me that her father worked in the ministry and was obsessed with Muggles, that her older brother Charlie worked with dragons and her older brother Bill was a curse breaker, that her brother Percy was in the castle but spent more of his time in his dorms than anywhere else, and the events of the previous year.

"You're telling me there's a secret room in this castle only Harry Potter can open and you were brought there and almost murdered by a semi-living memory of Voldemort-" she flinched, "and you're just casually sharing about it?" I asked. The ginger shrugged.   
"Most people with trauma like that find it hard to talk about." I said.  
"I think it's easier for me to cope when I talk about it. I had a lot of memory loss while I was being possessed, talking about it makes me feel like I'm not crazy and that it's not just some weird side effect of the ordeal." Ginny explained. I nodded. That made sense.  
Ginny decided to spend the night. She brought some stuff over and took the empty bed on my right.   
We were having a nice conversation when two girls came in chatting loudly.  
"And when I finally got her owl-" the blonde girl who was speaking stopped in the middle of her sentence. Her hair was long and reached her waist. She had stitched pink lace onto her uniform skirt and she wore bright makeup.   
The other girl had obviously dyed black hair. It was shaved on one side and the other was long and draped over an eye. She wore dark eyeliner and a black choker.   
"Hi." I said.   
"Hello." The blonde girl said, smiling shyly. The other girl didn't respond.  
"You're Clara?" The blonde asked. "I saw your name appeared on the door earlier but I never saw you in here so I didn't say anything." I simply nodded. Nobody asked why Ginny was here.  
"I'm Sophie Lake and that's Hades Everest." She told me. Hades sat on what appeared to be her bed and cuddled the elephant stuffed animal. I'd figured the stuffed animal would have been Sophie's, but who am I to judge?   
"Clara Potter."  
"Are you related to Harry Potter?" Hades asked, her voice soft and raspy.  
"I-" I should say no, even if it was true for me. "I'm not. We just have the same name."   
"Oh." Hades didn't press the matter, she just turned into her side.  
"Hades is a bit of the quiet type, but she warms right up after a bit." Sophie assured me. We didn't say much after that. Later, we tried waking Hades for dinner, but she was fast asleep. We came back immediately, exhausted from a day of doing near-nothing, Sophie changed into pajamas before climbing into bed.   
Ginny quickly fell asleep once we were all settled. I laid on my back, having changed right after Sophie. If I had gone to Hogwarts, would I have met these girls? Would we have been friends? Would I even be a Gryffindor if I hadn't been forced to live in a war zone?   
I rolled into my side. If it weren't for Voldemort, perhaps I wouldn't know these girls, but I would have been allowed to have friends. 

Waking up was difficult. It always had been. Ginny hit me with a pillow several times before I reluctantly sat up in order to stay awake.  
"You missed breakfast. It's almost eleven. I would have woken you earlier, but I didn't bother once breakfast was over since you'd only be hungry for longer." Ginny told me. I sighed.   
"Everyone should be boarding the train soon. To come back." Ginny told me. I nodded and stood slowly.  
I changed, taking my sweet time to get the uniform just right. Today was the first day it would actually matter. Ginny dragged me down the stairs and into the common room.  
"I have an essay to finish. You don't have to stay." She told me, sitting down on the floor since the couch by the fire was taken.   
"I don't have anywhere to be." I said. I probably should go talk to Harrison and Violet to make sure we all had our stories straight, but I could see them later. I sat beside Ginny on the floor.  
"You're so lucky you don't have any homework." She said, taking a long roll of parchment out of a bag I don't even know she'd brought.  
"Oh-"  
"Who's this?"  
Two almost identical voices suddenly asked, and two identical boys sat on either side of me.  
They were both gingers, leading me to think they might be Ginny's brothers, but not every ginger was a Weasley.  
"Oh!" Ginny said, as if welcoming the distraction. "This is Clara. She just transferred here. Clara, these are my brothers, Fred and George."  
She's told me about these twins. The troublemakers.  
"Hi." I said quietly. I didn't want to get on their bad side so I wouldn't get pranked, but I wasn't too keen on having too many friends. I wouldn't be able to handle leaving so many people behind.   
The twins grinned identical grins. "I'm Fred," One said.   
"And I'm George." said the other. There had to be something to tell them apart, right? One of them had a freckle on their left ear, but I couldn't remember which twin it was. Oops.  
"How do people tell you two apart?" I asked them. Perhaps they wanted to be told apart.  
"They don't" The twins responded in unison. I sighed.  
"I'm Clara." I said.  
"Hello, Clara." The twins chorused. Ginny cleared her throat.  
"Right, that's enough of that. What do you want?" She asked the boys.  
"What? You mean we can't make friends for the sake of it?" One asked in mock offense.  
"How could you even suggest we might have an ulterior motive?" The other continued, dramatically leaning on my shoulder as if devastated. Ginny just rolled her eyes.   
"Don't mind them, Clara. They're like that." She said. "Why're you two here anyway? I thought you went home for Christmas."  
"Decided not to." The one laying on my shoulder said.  
"We wanted to see what the castle was like all empty like this." The other twin said, laying his head in my lap.  
"Well you don't need to harass my friend for that." Ginny said, flicking the forehead of the ginger laying in my lap.  
"Harass? Oh no." He replied.  
"Don't you have an essay or something, little sister?" The twin on my shoulder asked her. Ginny looked back at the roll of parchment she had been writing on, then at me. I smiled at her.  
"You have to finish that. I'm okay with keeping them company." I told her. Ginny smiled appreciatively and went back to her essay with a scowl at the twins.  
"We really did just want to meet you." The twin on my shoulder whispered into my ear.  
"You were successful." I told him.  
"Where are you from anyway?" The twin on my lap asked. "I've never seen you before."   
And thus, I told my story. Again.

The school was much larger than I'd anticipated. When the students came back from the winter break, they filled the Great Hall to the bursting point. The noise in the hall was deafening. As I sat between Ginny and Hades, who had been woken by Sophie just in time for dinner, I waved at Violet and Harrison. Violet sent me a quick wave, Harrison nodded in my direction. The two didn't sit together, though. Harrison sat beside a brunette girl and Violet sat in a fairly empty spot. Had Harrison made a friend and just left Violet to fend for herself? I frowned. They should be friends, we were all in the same situation and we would need each other's support.   
Dumbledore said some quick words, welcoming everyone back, before he clapped his hands twice and food appeared. We dug in happily. I didn't say much, just listened to the conversation around me.   
Ginny nudged me with her foot. She pointed to a ginger boy who had his nose in a book and a Head Boy badge. "That's Percy." She told me through a mouthful of chicken.   
"You didn't tell me he was Head Boy." I said. Ginny shrugged and went back to her chicken.  
I turned to Hades. Sophie was chatting at her excitedly about something and Hades was nodding along. She had mashed potatoes on her plate, but she wasn't eating them, just pushing them around her plate.   
Now that I was close, I noticed her wrists were incredibly small. She wore a thick sweater under her robes, so I couldn't tell if the rest of her was that skinny, and her bed was against the wall opposite mine in the dorm. Did Hades have an eating disorder?  
Mom always told me that there were certain questions you just don't ask people, and that was one of them, but was it overreacting to go to an adult about it? Eating disorders could ruin your life, or kill you. She didn't need to die. She couldn't.   
I turned back to my food, my appetite suddenly gone. Perhaps I should go to McGonagall and ask her to check on Hades.   
"Not hungry?" Ginny asked me. I looked up and leaned close.  
"Does Hades have an eating disorder?" I asked.   
Ginny glanced at Hades then back at me. "I don't know. I've never really noticed she was there." Ginny looked a bit worried though, which squashed the suspicion that she didn't care. Hades stood abruptly, said bye to Sophie, and then sent me a meaningful look as she left. I watched her leave and then turned back to Ginny.  
"Should I talk to McGonagall?"   
"I think so."  
I glanced at Sophie as I took a bite of cooked spinach. The blonde was focused entirely on the two girls in front of her, as if she hadn't even noticed Hades leaving. I looked back at my plate and forced down a few more bites of steak and garlic potatoes before leaving briskly. I didn't really know where I was going exactly. I was going to miss dessert, an experience I knew I would probably never get, but dessert would be there tomorrow. I couldn't stop thinking about Hades. She was only twelve, like me. What could have possibly caused her to develop an eating disorder?   
I considered going to the library, but what would I research there? I didn't even know exactly what was wrong, so should I really go to McGonagall if I wasn't sure? What if I walked in there and she told me I was overreacting. Maybe Hades just wasn't hungry.   
I was suddenly compelled to stop. I turned to see Hades leaning up against the window, her pale eyes glistening in the fading sunlight. She looked at me.  
"Thanks for your concern, Clara. I'm fine, really." She said quietly. But it was like I saw through her then. The hastily concealed bags under her eyes, the thing scars on her neck and just barely visible under her sleeves. The way her sweater hung over her frame loosely.   
"Can I... give you a hug?" I asked her, taking a step closer. How do you talk to people who are mentally ill?  
"I'd prefer if you didn't." Hades told me. I blinked at her for a moment. No? I didn't think people even said no to hugs. I thought everyone said yes just to be polite. But it wasn't my job to touch her if it made her uncomfortable. I stepped back and nodded.  
"That's okay." I told her. After a moment of awkward hesitation, Hades extended a hand.  
"Handshake?" She offered. I shook her hand with a grin. Hades smiled back weakly.  
I needed to talk to McGonagall. 

2060 words   
4/20/20

**Author's Note:**

> I really didn’t plan to publish this here but here we are. AU is also published on Wattpad, I’m under the same username there.


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